Milling machine transmission and control mechanism



- D47f 1937 H. R. lsLERv 2,101,544

y MILLING MACHINE lIRAISMISSION-AND CONTROL MECHANISM Filed March 26,1936 Sheets-Sheet l Iza? lay/@Wig ATTORNEY.

s 'sheets-sheet 2 zo! Q6 `H. R. lsLER Dec. 7, 1937.

MILLING YMACHINE TRANSMISSION ANDV CONTROL MECHANISM Filed March 26,1956 Dec- 7) 1937- `H. R. lsLER MILLING MACHINE TRANSMISSION AND CONTROLMECHANISM Filed March 2e, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. w/w/y /Q aff?ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 7, 1937 "ammi MILLING MACHINE TBANSMSSHN AND GDNTRL MECH iSM Herman R. isler, Norwood, Ohio, gnor to The Cincinnati MillingMachine 6o.', Cino Ohio. a corporation of Ohio Application March 26,1936, Serial No. 70,991

8 Claims.

This invention vrelates to .milling machines and more particularly toimprovements in attachments therefor.

One of the objects of this invention is to pro- 5 vide a simple shortand long lead attachment for milling machines.

. Another object of this invention is to provide an attachment for theforegoing purposes which is extremely compact, light in weight, andinexl pensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should be readilyapparent by reference to the following specification, considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings that any modifications may bemade in the exact structural details there shown and described, withinthe scope of the appended claims, without departing from or exceedingthel spirit of the invention.

` Referring to the drawings in which like reference numerals indicatelike or similar parts:

Figure l is a front elevation of a'milling'machine embodying theprinciples of this invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed section on` the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section ure 2.

Figure 4 is a section on the line t-t of Fig, ure l.

Figure 5 is a section on ure 4.

. Figure 6 is a section on lthe'line 6-6 of Figure 2.

FigureV 'l is an expanded View of the gearing in the gear box of theattachment.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view of the entire transmission of themachine.

In Figure 1 of the drawings is shown a conventional type of knee andcolumn type milling machine having an upright or column I0, upon onewall of which is formed guide ways II for receiving and guiding a kneeI2 for vertical movement. The' knee has horizontal guide ways 45 I3 uponwhich is reciprocably mounted a saddle I4. The' saddle, in turn, hashorizontal guide ways extending transversely to the guide ways i3 forreceiving and supportinga table I5 which is movable transversely of theaxis of the cutter I6. The cutter may be supported' for rotation on Yanarbor Il which may be securely attached in driving relation to the noseI8 of a cutter spindle I9.

the line 5-5 of Fig- As shown in Figure 8, the cutter spindle may y bedriven from a prime mover 20 which may be forming a part thereof and itis to be understood housed in the interior of the column and connectedthrough suitable motion transmitting y means, such as a. chain or beltv'il to a drive shaft 22. This shaft may be selectively connectedthrough shiftable clutch means 23 to the primary shaft 24 of a. variablespeed transmission comprising a plurality of 'shiftable gears 25, 26, 2land 28 whereby the spindle I9 may be driven at a suitable number ofspeeds.

As is conventional in machines of the type under consideration, meansare provided for actuating the knee, saddle and table by power, and suchpower means may comprise a feed box indicated 'generally bythe referencenumeral 29 having a primary drive shaft 30, which is connected bygearing 3l to shaft 32, the latter being connected by gearing 33 forcontinuous rotation by the prime mover 20.

The feed box may have a final output shaft t4 connected by suitablegearing 35 to the feed clutch member 36, and a plurality of shiftablegears 31, 38, 39 and #lll may serve to change the output feed rate ofthe feed box.

For rapid movements of the various supportsv the shaft 32 may beconnected through the gear train tl to the rapid traverse gear t2mounted in co-aiiial relation to the clutch member-36 and supportingshaft d3.

A feed rapid traverse selector member it may be interposed between thefeed clutch member 36 and the rapid traverse gear 42 for selectivelyconnecting one or the other for actuation of shaft 43.

This shaft is connected through bevel gearing to a vertical spline shaft46 which vmay be 'mounted exteriorly of ythe column I0 and connected insplined .relation to gear 41 carried by a bracket on the knee `wherebymotion may be continuously transmitted to the various work supportingmembers regardless of the vertical position of the knee.

The gear 4l may be connected through a train comprising spur gear 48,bevel gears 49 and spur gear 60 to gear 5I, which gear serves as acommon actuator for the table, saddle and knee.

The gear 5I is keyed to the end of spline shaft 52 which has a bevelgear 53 splined thereon but movable with the saddle for actuation of thetable. The gear 53 meshes with a bevel gear 54,

which is connected by a spur gear train 55 to bevel gear 5B of areversing 'mechanism comprising intermeshing bevel gears 51 and 58having opposed clutch faces formed thereon.

An intermediate shiftable clutch member 59 serves to interconnect bevelgears 51 and 58 to the lead screw I9 for reverse actuation of the table.

rlhe gear 5| also intermeshes with a wide spur gear 6|, which directlyintermeshes with gear 92 and indirectly, through idler 93, intermesheswith gear 94 whereby gears and 94 are rotated in opposite directions.These gears have clutch faces and 69 formed on opposing faces thereofand are connectible, by the intermediate clutch member 91, to the saddledrive shaft 99.

The gears 92 and I4 intermesh with gears 69 and 19 respectively forrotation thereof in opposite directions and an intermediate clutchmember 1| serves to interconnect these gears for opposite rotation ofthe knee drive shaft 12. Thus, by means of the foregoing mechanism, anyone o'f the work supporting elements, such as the table, saddle or knee,may be power actuated in opposite directions. Suitable manually operableor trip operable control elements may be provided for actuation of theseparts' in accordance with conventional practice.

'I'he reverser clutch 59 for the table is not actually splined on thelead screw 99 but, as shown in Figure 3, is splined on a sleeve 13 whichis supported for free rotation with respect to the lead screw 69. Thissleeve is integrally connected with a rotatable member 14 which has gearteeth 15 formed on its periphery and clutch teeth 16 formed upon an endface thereof. A shiftable clutch member 11, which has a splinedconnection with the lead screw 69, serves to interconnect the sleeve 13for rotation of the lead screw 69 during conventional plain millingoperations.

'I'he table clutch member 59 is shifted by a fork 19 which is attachedto the shifter rod 19. This rod has a slot 99 into which fits one end ofa bell crank 8|, the other end being connected by a link 82 to an arm 83integral with shaft 84. This shaft has a manually operable handle 95.Integral with the arm 83 is a detent mechanism comprising the springpressed detent 86 which interengages V-shaped notches 91 formed integralwith the arm 93.

The shiftable clutch member 11 is moved into and out of engagement withclutch teeth 16 by a shifter fork 89 mounted on a shifter rod 99 whichhas integrally formed cylindrical rack teeth 99 interengaging anelongated pinion 9|. This pinion also meshes with cylindrical rack teeth92 formed on a shifter rod 93 lwhich is moved back and forth by means ofan eccentric connection 94, Figure 6, with a rotatable shaft 95. Thisshaft has a manually operable handle 96 on the upper end thereof.

It will be noted from Figures 2 and 6 that when the handle 96 is rotatedclockwise, as viewed in Figure 2, that the rack bar 93 will move towardthe right as viewed in Figure 6, due to the construction of theeccentric connection, which will result in counterclockwise rotation ofthe pinion 9| and movement of the shifter rod 89 to the left, as viewedin Figure 2, and thereby engagement of clutch 11. When this clutch isengaged the machine is set for plain milling operations.

For spiral milling operations a spiral dividing head, such as 91, isapplied to the table I5 and a detachable mechanism is provided forcoupling the head 91 for actuation through the same reversing clutchthat is utilized for operating the table during plain millingoperations. 'I'his invention is directed more particularly to animproved form of detachable mechanism'which will now be described indetail.

This mechanism comprises a detachable bracket 99 in which is formed anenclosed chamber 99 for housing most of the gearing, thereby protectingsame from chips and foreign material, and making it possible toadequately lubricate the same.

f 'This bracket includes a spline shaft |99 which is inserted in a bore|9| formed in the back apron |92 of the table, as shown in Figure 7, andas shown in Figure 3, this shaft passes through the hub of a gear |93journaled for rotation in the saddle of the machine.

Since the shaft |99 is utilized, not only for rotating the head 91, butalso for rotating the lead screw 69, an interlock is provided wherebythe clutch 11 must be disengaged whenever the shaft |99 is inserted inthe machine to guard against actuation of the lead screw 69'from twodifferent sources and at two different rates at the same time. Thisinterlocking connection is obtained by extending the rack bar 93, asshown in Figure 6, a sufficient amount that When it is moved to theright, as viewed in Figure 6, it will interfere with insertion of thespline shaft |99; or on the other hand, if the parts are in the positionshown in Figure 6, movement of the Arack bar 93 to the right to effectengagement of clutch 11, while the spline shaft |99 is in position, willbe prevented.

The gear |93 is in engagement with the gear teeth 15 of member 14whereby it will always be rotated whenever thetable reversing clutch -59is shifted to either oneof its power transmitting positions. 'I'hismeans that the shaft |99 will be reversely rotated, depending upon theposition'of clutch 59.

As shown, in Figure '7, the shaft |99 has a collar |94 pinned theretoand this collar has clutch teeth |95 formed on one face thereof, andthese clutch teeth are adapted to interengage with clutch teeth formedon collar |96 pinned on shaft |91. The shaft |91 is held againstlongitudinal movement in the bracket 98. This means that when thebracket is detached from the end of the table the clutch teeth will beseparated and the driving connection broken.

The lead screw 69 which is supported in antifriction bearings |99 in theback apron 92 of the table, as shown in Figure '1, is normally providedwith a splined extension |99 and this is utilized for effecting adriving connection of the gearing in the bracket to the lead screw. Tothis end the bracket has a gear I|9 which has an elongated hub III whichpasses through the wall ||2 of the bracket and is held againstlongitudinal -movement with respect thereto.

As previously mentioned, this invention deals l the bracket is providedwith a control lever |3,`

which as shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5, has two positions, one of .whichis' for adjusting the mechanism to yield short leads and the otherposition for yielding long leads. The lever ||3 has a spring actuatedplunger ||4 in the end thereof which is/adapted to engage holes ||5 and|I9 formed in the bracket for maintaining the lever in either one of itspositions. When the lever ||3 is in the position shown in Figures 1 and5 the mechanism is set for cutting short leads. In other words, thelever II3 is secured to a shaft ||1 which has a shifter arm ||9 securedto the end thereof and interengaging a gear couplet comprising gears I|9and |20 The gear |20 engages a gear |2| mounted for rotation on a shaft|22. The gear |2| rotates, through gear |23 supported on shaft |24, agear couplet |25 supported for' rotation on shaft |26. and this coupletcomprises a gear |21, which meshes with Agear |20, and a gear |20, whichmeshes with a gear |30. The gear |20 is splined. on shaft |3|, and thegear |30 is fixed with shaft |32. Rotation of the spline shaft |00 'willthus rotate, through gears |20, I2I, |23, |21 and |28, the shaft |3|,which is connected through the gear train, indicated generally by4 thereference numeral |33, to the drive shaft |34 of 'the head 01; At thesame time, the shaft |00 will drive, through gears |20, |2|, |23, |21,|29 and |30, the shaft |32 which 'is connected by change gears,indicated generally by the reference numeral |35, to the lead screw 30.`It will be noted 'that the gear'train from shaft |00 to the attachmentdrive shaft |34 has practically no change in rate, while the changegearing |35 eil'ects a substantial reduction in rate due to the factthat the shaft |32 has a small pinion |36 engaging the large gear |31,which is splined on shaft |33.

"The spline shaft |33 is connected by the gear train |30, |40 and |4| tothe shaft |42, which has a drive 4fit in the-hub ofl gear |i0. 'I'husthe lead screw may be rotated at a very greatly reduced rate as respectsthe dividing head 91 which makes it possible to cut very short leads.

Variations in the length of the short lead however, are obtained bysubstituting other gears` In this case for the change gears and ||i|..the gear |40 is merely an idler gear, being rotatably supported in theend of an arm |43 which is pivotally connected at |44 to the adjustablearm |45. The arm |45 has an `elongated hub, as shown, in Figure L-bywhich it is rotatably supported in the wall ||2 of the bracket by meansof which it may be oscillated to various positions lto assist inpositioning the gearv |00 in mesh with the gears on shaft |30 and |42.The arm has an elongated slot |46 formed in the end thereof and a fixedclamping screw |41 passes through this slot for securing the arm invarious adjusted positions.

It will be noted from Figure l that the train of gears connecting theshaft' |30 to the shaft |42 is a simple gear train, and although a largenumber of combinations can be obtained by substituting other gears forthe gears |30 and |4|,

still ladditional combinations may be obtained by substituting for thespur gear acompound gear whereby an additional series of combinationsmay be obtained.. In such a case, the spacer |48 on pin |49, whichsupports gear |40, may be removed to permit substitution of anadditional gear and the spacer |50 on shaft |42 may be reversedvinposition with respect to gear |4| whereby gear |4I, or any other gearsubstituted Itherefor, will now mesh with the compound gear substitutedfor the spacer |48. When it is stated that the number of combinationsobtainable with the simplegear train shown, added to the additionalcombinations that may be obtained with the use of compound gears, is ofthe order oi` thousands, the range and capacity of `this simplemechanism will` be 'more fuly realized.

When it is desired to cut long leads, the long and shgort lead seclectorlever H3 is moved counterclockwise, as viewed in Figures l to 5,

to its other position which thereby moves gear yH0 into engagement withSear H0, Figure 7.

Since Vthe gear H0 is directly connected to the lead screw it will beseen that the lead screw will be rotated at. a rate more nearlyapproximating the rate of the shaft |00, the actual rate depending, ofcourse, upon the ratio of the gear H3 to the gear H0.

Inl setting up the machine for long leads the large gear |31 and thepinion |36 are interchanged, and to insure that this is done aninterlock is provided which comprises a lever Lil;v

Figure 5, which is pivoted' at |52 and which has ,a pair of arms |03 and|54 which are adapted to alternately project beyond the face |55 toinsure that the large gear |31 is in its proper position. The arm lil isconnected by a link |56 to a crank arm |51 integral with the selectorlever H3. In other words, if the large gear |31 has not been removed`from the position shown in the drawings and `mounted upon the shaft |32it will be impossible for the operator to move the selector lever to thelong lead position because the contact-arm |54 will abut the rear faceof gear |31 still remains on the shaft |32 when the operator throws theselector lever ||3 to the short lead position the contact arm |53 willabut the rear face of gear |31 and prevent engagement of gear |20 withgear |2I. It will thus be seen that this interlock serves to insure thatthe large gear |31 is in its proper position when the selection betweenalong lead and ashort lead is made.

' The same simple gearing and compound gearing is utilized tointerconnect shaft |42 with shaft |38 to produce the various series oflong leads that may be desired. The power will be transmittedthroughthls train of gearing in a reverse direction since the shaft |42is now the 'driver and the shaft |32is the driven member.

The power from shaft |32 will now be transmitted through gear |30 togears |29 and |21, which means that gear |21 will be rotating in onedirection and gear |30 will be rotating in an opposite direction. Theshaft- |3| carries a gear couplet of which gear |28 forms a partthereof. The

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other gear of the couplet is shiftable into mesh with gear |30 to eectrotation of shaft |3| in one direction, or the gear |20 is shifted intomesh with gear |21 to effect rotation of shaft |3| in an oppositedirection. Thus, the attachment drive shaft |34 may be rotated inopposite directions with respect to the direction, of rotation of thelead screw |50.v 'I'he couplet |58|23 thus serves as a reverser for`changing the direction of frotation of the attachment with respect tothe lead screw, regardless of whether long leads or short leads arebeing cut.' The couplet |58-|28, which constitutes a reverser, isshifted by the reverse control lever |59isecured/to one end of shaft|60, this. shaft having a shifter arm |6| secured to the end thereof andintereng'aging the couplet. The end of the arm |59 may have a springpressed plunger |62 adapted to engage in holes |63 formed in thebracket, as shown in Figball crank lever |13.

lubricant reservoir I formed in the upper part thereof from whichsuitable channels or bores I and |66 extend downwardly in suitabledirections to lubricate the various rotating parts within the chamber.I'he gears that have to be changed are mounted on the exterior wall orface I" and a pivoted cover |81 serves to enclose these gears after anynecessary changes have been made.

It will be noted from Figure 'l that the final gear train |33 is mountedon the opposite exterior face of the bracket and next to the attachmentand that the rst tw`o gears lll and i are carried by a small bracket'|10 in such a manner that the gear I may be pivoted about the axis ofshaft III a sufficient amount to compensate for changes in the centerline distance between the attachment drive shaft |34 and the lead screw60. i

'For manual operation of the parts, the shaft |81 has a gear |1| whichis adapted to be interengaged by a gear |12 formed integral with a Thislever has a bore |14 which is adapted to ilt over a fixed pin Ill forsupporting the gear |12 in rotatable engagement with gear |1|. In orderto apply the ball crank lever |13 to the pin |15 the cover |61 must beswung open. 'Ihis helps to insure that the manually operable lever |13will be removed during power operation of the machine.

'I'here has thus been provided a very much improved, simplified andinexpensive mechanism for the purposes indicated.

I claim:

1. In` a milling machine having a table, a work rotating attachmentcarried thereby. a drive shaft and a leadscrew supported by the table,the combination of means for actuating the attachment and lead screwincluding a lbracket detachably connected to the table, a pair of gearscarried by the bracket, algear train connecting the gears forsimultaneous rotation in opposite directions by the drive shaft,reduction gearing' connecting one of said gears to said lead screw, andmeans to selectively connect either of said gears for actuation of theattachment.

2. In a milling machine having a work rotator and a table actuator, thecombination with a power shaft, of means for simultaneously operatingsaid parts including a bracket detachably connectible to said table, apair of adjacently related shafts carried by the bracket andintercoupled for simultaneous rotation in opposite directions, means,for driving one of said pair of shafts from the power shaft, a changegear mechanism coupling the other shaft to the table actuator, and meansfor selectively connecting the work rotator to one of said pair ofshafts in accordance with the desired direction of rotation with respectto the direction of rotation of the table actuator.

3. In a milling machinehaving a table, a power shaft and a lead screwsupported thereby, the combination of a detachable housing having meanstherein for connecting the power shaft to the lead screw and attachmentfor simultaneous actuation at different proportionate rates, saidhousing including an enclosed chamber vhaving a drive shaft journaledtherein and projecting beyond one wall of the chamber, rate change means-supported on the exterior of said housing for coupling said shaft tothe table lead screw, means within said chamber for coupling the drivesha-ft to the power shaft, and means supported on another exterior wallof said housing and selectively connectible with said drive.

shaft for actuating said attachment, and a cover plate for enclosingsaid rate change means.

4. In a long and short lead attachment to adapt a milling machine forspiral cutting, the combination of a housing attachable to the machinetable and having a transmission therein including a pair of parallelshafts journaled in the housing, a large gear and a pinion adapted to beinterchangeably mounted on said shafts, a third shaft journaled in thehousing, a simple gear train rate changer coupling one of said pair ofshafts to the third shaft. means to selectively apply power to one ofsaid parallel shafts or to said third shaft, interlocking meansrequiring said gear and pinion to be mounted in such relation that thepinion is always the driver, and means to selectively connect a spiralmilling attachment or the table lead screw to the output end of saidtransmission and the remaining element to the input end of. saidtransmission.

5. In a long and short lead attachment to adapt a milling machine forspiral cutting, the combination of a housing attachable to the machinetable and having -a transmission therein including a pair of parallelshafts journaled in the housing. a large gear and a pinion adapted to beinterchangeably mounted on said shafts, a third shaft journaled in thehousing, a simple gear train rate changer coupling one of said pair ofshafts to the third shaft, means to selectively apply power to one ofsaid parallel shafts or to said third shaft, interlocking meansrequiring said gear and pinion to be mounted in such relation that thepinion is always the driver, means to selectively connect a spiralmilling attachment or the table lead screwto the output end of saidtransmission and the remaining element to the input end of saidtransmission, and means to substitute compound gearing in said simpletrain to obtain additional rate changes.

6. In a milling machine having a table, a lead screw therefor, a powerdriven reverser, and means to selectively connect the output of saidreverser to the lead screw, the combination with table and having arotor, of means for actuating said rotor and lead screw including ashaft adapted to be connected to the output of said reverser, a housingdetachably connectible to the table and including a member automaticallyconneotible to saidshaft, and a second member automatically connectibleto the lead screw upon application of the housing to the table, ratechange gearing carried by the housing having terminal members, and meansfor simultaneously connecting the power shaft and lead screw to one ofsaid terminal members and the spiral milling attachment to the otherterminal member: or to simultaneously connect the power shaft andattachment rotor to one of said terminal members and the lead screw tothe other terminal member.

7. In a milling machine having a reciprocable work table, an attachmentcarried thereby and a power shaft and a lead screw'supported by thetable, the combination of means for actuating the attachment and leadscrew from the power shaft including a bracket detachably mounted on theend of said table, a gear train mounted in the bracket and terminatingin a re'versing mechanism, a rate change gearing connectible by saidreversing mechanism in serial power transmitting relationship to saidgear train for actuating the attachment, a second rate changegearingphaving interchangeable members and 2,101,544 .terminal rotorswhereby the driveny rctor is rotated at a lesser speed than the otherrotor, and means for selectively connecting said power shaft with saidgear train or with one ct'said rotors.

8. In a milling machine having a xed support, a table reciprocablymounted thereon and an attachment carried by the table and having adriving rotor, the combination of means for actuating the table androtor including a' lead screw and a power shaft rotatably supported bythe table, a bracket 'detachably onnectlble to the table, a rate changegearing carried by the bracket with its output connected to said rotor,

a second rate change gearing having terminal members and interchangeablegears whereby the terminal rotor, that is, selectively the driven one,will rotate at a lesser speed than the driver, and means to selectivelyconnect the power shaft to one end of said rst-named rate change gearingand to one of the terminal rotors of the second named rate changegearing and the other terminal rotor vto said lead screw or to connectsaid power shaft to said lead screw and to one terminal rotor of saidsecond-named rate change gear-4 ing and the other terminal rotor to thedriving end of said first-named rate change gearing. HERMAN R.. ISLER.

